What do I do about my serve?

Question

My coach tells me I have one of the best serves on the team but I dont use my body and propeal myself on to the court I am all arms. In a good match I can get about 3 good aces and the returner normal has problems returning my serve because its coming hard and fast. So I guess my real question is should I switch to my coachs methoid.

Answer 1

if it aint broke dont fix it

Answer 2

agreed with the poster above if ur still winning with it, then don't change it because it might take away from ur game.

serve is the most important part of your game and if its gud then let's forget about ur coach's advice.

Answer 3

Well it is hard to determine the actual problems without seeing a video or anything.  But what your coach is saying is right in a sense..  You can just swing with your arm.

Power from the serve comes from all sources, starting with the legs, working up to the upper body rotation, and finishing with the shoulders and arms.  Its best to have all components rather than just one.  

I suggest breezing through some of these videos to get a better sense of things...this is a direct link to all the serving lessons from the pros on my site.  

http://topspinsports.com/Lessons/Serve/T...

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Answer 4

Your coach agrees that you have a good serve. But as a coach, he/she is trying to help you improve your game. Take the coach's advice to see if you can improve your serve by using your body more.

You may be winning with your current serve but when you start playing better players you may need a better serve.

Even if you're a pro, there's always room for improvement.

Answer 5

Your coach has a lot more vision than you do.  He is trained to help you get better.  Your serve may be awesome now, but in time the others will catch up and you will not have improved what you have.

My advice is to listen to your coach if you trust his judgement.  Has he done wonders for other students?  You could injure yourself if you are depending on your arm and shoulder muscles too much.  You NEED the body weight transfer to help you get even more power and accuracy.

Answer 6

while your serve does sound good, using all arms can damage your shoulders in the future so using more body might be better in the long run.

Answer 7

Yes.

It may be awkward in the short term but in the long term it will benefit you greatly.

Not only that, but your coach is correct. If you are getting good power at the moment, imagine all the power you will get with your body weight behind the ball!

With a little practice (and might I add you are lucky you have a coach to teach you this properly) your serve will improve. By putting your weight into it, you will acheive more power.